DEM element modelling of silent piling group installation for offshore wind turbine foundations

Benjamin Cerfontaine, Michael Brown, Matteo Ciantia, Marco Huisman, Marius Ottolini

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Abstract

Offshore wind farms are now built in deeper water and bigger foundations are required to stabilise wind turbines of increasing sizes. Pile driving is the most widespread foundation installation method, but more stringent environmental regulations necessitate costly mitigation methods to reduce underwater noise emissions. The silent piling (push-in) concept presented in this work is composed of a cluster of four piles, progressively installed by successive jacking sequences. During one sequence, each pile is moved downward by 0.5m stroke, while the other piles are used as reaction. This paper presents the results of Discrete Element Method (DEM) of the installation process. This work identifies the main features of the push-in installation method, such as pile interaction, progressive plugging and loss of efficiency as a function of depth. It is shown that the cluster capacity can reach six times the weight of the tool necessary to silently install the piles.
Original languageEnglish
Pages227
Number of pages236
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2021
EventSecond International Conference on Press-in Engineering - Kochi, Kochi, Japan
Duration: 19 Jun 202120 Jun 2021
https://icpe-ipa.org/

Conference

ConferenceSecond International Conference on Press-in Engineering
Abbreviated titleICPE2021
Country/TerritoryJapan
CityKochi
Period19/06/2120/06/21
Internet address

Keywords

  • push in piles
  • piles
  • offshore wind energy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Engineering
  • Civil and Structural Engineering

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  • Best Research Paper Award ICPE2021

    Cerfontaine, B. (Recipient), Brown, M. (Recipient), Ciantia, M. (Recipient), Huisman, M. (Recipient) & Ottolini, M. (Recipient), Jun 2021

    Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)

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